MILC Contracts Automatically Extended

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency announced yesterday that Milk Income Loss Contracts (MILC) have been automatically extended. As are result, producers who were enrolled in the program do not have to sign up again.

USDA will announce signup rules shortly for those currently not enrolled in the program. The MILC program had ended on Sept. 30, 2012 with the expiration of the 2008 Farm Law. But Congress’s extension of the law earlier this month through Sept. 30, 2013 also renewed the MILC program. At the time of the extension, it was unclear whether dairy farmers would have to renew their contracts.

USDA’s announcement yesterday clears up that uncertainty. Since payment rates and the feed adjustor are also in place, there will be a 2¢/cwt MILC payment for October 2012 milk production. And based on year-end futures prices, it appears MILC payments could be coming each month from February through July 2013. Based on those futures prices, payments could range from a high of 39¢/cwt to a low of 11¢/cwt, according to analysis provided by the University of Wisconsin.